My landlord’s wife came to knock on my door at dawn and asked where her husband was. I was still sleepy, but the question swiped the sleepiness out of my eyes. “Your husband? Why are you asking me about your husband?”

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She pushed me out of the way and entered my room, shouting and looking around for her husband. She looked under the bed, went to the bathroom, looked inside my wardrobe, and then behind the door. When she didn’t find him, she complained about the tiles in my bathroom. “See how dirty the tiles are. Were they this brown when you came to rent the room?”

I asked her to leave so I could close my door. She walked to the door, walked back in to open my fridge. “I know he’s around somewhere, but tell him not to come out today because I’m sitting outside.”

She sat outside until morning came. I went out to sweep and saw her sitting there, looking directly at my door. Her husband came in the afternoon, and the two started a fight that lasted for over a week. The woman still insisted that her husband was with me or was hanging around me and ran away when she came there.

I was free with the landlord because he was nice to me, but that man never entered my room or even made an attempt on me. We could sit outside and talk for hours until it all changed that dawn. The woman gave me one week to leave the house.

For my own safety, I started looking for a place. I wrote on my Facebook wall: “A single-room self-contained needed urgently. Please, no agent. My budget is GHC300 to GHC500.”

Later that day, Andy sent me a message. He said he had a house he would like me to see. I asked if he was an agent, and he said the house belonged to his parents. We met the following day, and he took me to see the house. Immediately, I saw the area and the house, I knew I couldn’t afford it.

The house was new. The rooms were bigger. I didn’t see a single-room self-contained but a chamber and hall. I said, “This is not what I want. I don’t think I can afford this.” He asked, “But do you want it?” I answered, “Yes, but the money I have with me, unless I add janitorial duties for three years—won’t be enough.”

He laughed. He said it was going for GHC1,000, but they needed a good person to live there more than the money, so I should pay GHC500 for a month. Some kindness brings questions, and those questions are usually rooted in fear. “He doesn’t know me but is ready to offer such huge kindness? Or does he want me there to use me for rituals?”

I asked if I could see his parents and talk to them. He said it wasn’t needed because they were outside the country and didn’t need the money, so whatever I paid would go to him directly. I said, “Maybe on the phone. I don’t want to wake up one day and have your parents eject me because I didn’t pay the full rent.”

It took me over a week to decide. He was the only one living in the house. There were rooms for two other tenants, but I was the first to move in, so I was scared. I called Mathew and asked him to act like he was my boyfriend. I went there with him, and Mathew made the payment. When we were leaving, Mathew told me the guy didn’t look like someone who would hurt me. I asked how he knew, and he said, “I’m a man. I have that intuition about men. He looks like a good guy.”

Matthew helped me move. He helped me fix my things and spent three days with me, helping around and also creating the impression of a relationship. When Mathew finally left, I was sure I was going to be safe. Andy didn’t come home until late at night but was the first to leave. For a whole week, all I heard was the engine of his car coming in and leaving early in the morning before I stepped out. On weekends, he would be inside. He could stay inside from Friday night until Monday morning when he left for work.

One evening, I went to knock on his door. “Is that how to live with a tenant?” I asked. He laughed. He said he was busy with some work and once he was done, he would welcome me properly. We talked that evening until it was late. When I left, I didn’t see him again until another week passed by.

One weekend, he was in his room like a prisoner when I knocked on his door. I said, “I cooked something; come and let’s share.” He was reluctant at first, but he came, and we sat on the floor of my hall and ate. I didn’t have anything in that hall. Everything I had was in the chamber. I was a newly employed nurse at a private hospital. I didn’t have anything of worth apart from my life.

It was hard for me to see him when I was on night duties. One evening around 11 p.m., he called and said, “I’m at the hospital entrance. Come around.”

He brought me food and some snacks. He said, “That should keep you company for the night.”

He asked about Matthew. He said, “Your man. Where is he? I haven’t seen him around since you moved in.” I was frank with him. I told him everything about Matthew and why I made him do what he did. He burst out laughing. He said, “I suspected it. I knew you weren’t comfortable with my offer.”

I knew I liked him, and I knew he had feelings for me too, but I still don’t remember the moment he looked me in the eye and proposed. But I remember our first kiss. Right after that, he traveled to the U.S. and didn’t return until two months later.

I met him at the airport when he returned. On the way home, he gave me his phone. He said, “My dad wants to talk to you.”

The man was clearly excited. He thanked me for taking care of his son and advised me to be good to him, saying I would meet him very soon at Christmas. I asked Andy, “What lies did you tell the man to make him this excited?” He answered, “I told him we were getting married in December.” I asked, “How could you tell your dad such a lie?” He answered, “Lies? Or are you not ready?”

I counted the months on my fingers: “August, September, October, November, then December. Four months?” He answered, “I bought the rings and a few things. We can get the rest ready before December.”

My eyes and my mouth couldn’t stay shut for several seconds. “What?” I screamed. “I’m sorry,” he answered. “I knew I had to do this and do it quickly before the cock crows.”

It’s been six years since we got married. It feels like just yesterday when I moved in with Mathew in tow. Every blink feels like years because they go by too fast. I remember getting stuck in the U.S. because of COVID, all alone and cold. He was supposed to be with me but didn’t get there in time. I came to Ghana, and I didn’t have a job. He said, “Go back to school and be better.”

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The first baby came when I was supposed to write an exam. And then the second one arrived when we were on holiday with his parents. His mother said, “Why don’t you two live here?” We said we would think about it. She said, “Then you’ll leave the kids here.”

Currently, the kids are there while we are here, living just like we did when we first met. Everything went by too fast. I guess that’s how love works. When you’re happy, life passes you by too quickly, but I’m happy we could share this time together. It makes life worthwhile.

—Daisy

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